More Le Batard hijinks

[Riptide]

You don't mess with the moneymaker. Corporate mantra.

 

[Ben_Hecht]

Just more toolishness from the ultimate Miami toolboi.

 

[BTExpress]

How it all went down.

http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/11338297/lebatard-suspension-lebron-james


FWIW, the newspaper ad would have cost about $12,000.

 

[Riptide]

How it all went down.

http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/11338297/lebatard-suspension-lebron-james


FWIW, the newspaper ad would have cost about $12,000.

So we ended up getting more publicity for the ad without paying for the ad and without ever intending to buy the ad than we would have if we'd actually spent money on the ad. Newspapers, man. Throwing yesterday's news in your bushes today, and ultimately giving us for free that for which they refuse to accept pay. ...

To recap, this message was now on the front of the newspaper for free because the newspaper had decided it wouldn't put an ad inside for money -- money I didn't offer for a cause I didn't believe in but was now advocating simply because they made such a show of not taking money I didn't offer.

 

[SnarkShark]

Kinda sad he had to explain it all to the dimwits who couldn't figure out the joke the first time.

 

[Alma]

Ugh...reading the whole thing is like living inside the mind of the most ridiculous narcissist for about 3 minutes.

"This fun and ridiculous stunt all turned out to be accidental performance art that created media buzz and ratings in a benign way while sticking to my irreverent beliefs about not genuflecting in the cathedral we've made of fun and games."

What a troll.

 

[Alma]

Kinda sad he had to explain it all to the dimwits who couldn't figure out the joke the first time.

It wasn't a joke. It was a troll. That's Le Batard's specialty.

 

[SnarkShark]

Kinda sad he had to explain it all to the dimwits who couldn't figure out the joke the first time.

It wasn't a joke. It was a troll. That's Le Batard's specialty.

You call it trolling, I call it a joke, others might even say it's satire. The point was, people couldn't figure it out when it first happened. Played right into his hand.

 

[cjericho]

Do people really think LeBatard should have been suspended for this?

No ... but then again I would have fired his ass over it.

Really? This is a fireable offence? To me, it's no different than the "(your city) sucks" columns Woody Paige wrote for 100 years.

To me it is. He's stepped out of a role of being a journalist and started acting like a whiny fan. Paige does it within the context of his column, much like Jim Murray did, but this is a step beyond, in my book.

But, then again, I'm not running ESPN. I'm a bit old school when it comes to objectivity.

Why do you think he is a journalist? He is not a journalist. He did this "within the context" of being a talking head with radio and television shows.

When he writes in the mag (if he still does, haven't read it in a while) is he a journalist then? Only because the guy writing in the mag seemed a lot like the same clown on TV and radio.

 

[Ben_Hecht]

Ugh...reading the whole thing is like living inside the mind of the most ridiculous narcissist for about 3 minutes.

"This fun and ridiculous stunt all turned out to be accidental performance art that created media buzz and ratings in a benign way while sticking to my irreverent beliefs about not genuflecting in the cathedral we've made of fun and games."

What a troll.

. . . except the U, which Cannot Be Criticized by Those Who Cannot Understand It's Utter Inviolate Gloriousness . . .


Gag.

What a hack.

Epic. Hack.

 

[Alma]

Kinda sad he had to explain it all to the dimwits who couldn't figure out the joke the first time.

It wasn't a joke. It was a troll. That's Le Batard's specialty.

You call it trolling, I call it a joke, others might even say it's satire. The point was, people couldn't figure it out when it first happened. Played right into his hand.

You mean people couldn't figure out he wasn't serious, then when he was mock-serious, people sided with him, and the joke was on their misplaced opinion?

Spare me that level of Glenn Beckian horseplay.

 

[RecoveringJournalist]

The popular feeling in Miami is that the radio station paid for the billboards, but DLB is taking the full blame for it to make sure nobody else gets into trouble.

It's a publicity stunt. There's part of me that says, "Well, he knows better and shouldn't have done it." but there's also a smaller part of me, that says, "What's the big deal here?"

I wonder if LeBron or maybe someone at the NBA got pissed and that's what caused ESPN to react.

 

[BDC99]

But there's a real problem with ESPN giving TV and radio talk shows to guys like Stephen A. Smith, Skip Bayless and Dan LeBetard and then punishing them for doing something "controversial." It's their job. They are paid to spout "outrageous" things, so ESPN can then promote that you need to watch because "you never know what they're going to say!"

Either let them do their thing or don't do the show. I think Smith and Bayless are reprehensible ****heads and I would never employ them for anything... but if you're giving an idiot a show, don't act shocked when he says something idiotic. LeBetard's just kind of a calculating goof, and getting upset over a mocking billboard is pretty spineless on ESPN's behalf.

Totally agree. I wish this thread had been available so I didn't have to make this argument on behalf of Stephen A. on the Ray Rice thread. That didn't go over quite as well. What SAS said was ridiculous and ignorant, but it's what they encourage these guys to do. And I agree that this was a publicity stunt for his radio show and did not warrant the punishment. Just a silly reaction, though it very well could have been ESPN trying to appease LeBron.

 

[cjericho]

But there's a real problem with ESPN giving TV and radio talk shows to guys like Stephen A. Smith, Skip Bayless and Dan LeBetard and then punishing them for doing something "controversial." It's their job. They are paid to spout "outrageous" things, so ESPN can then promote that you need to watch because "you never know what they're going to say!"

Either let them do their thing or don't do the show. I think Smith and Bayless are reprehensible ****heads and I would never employ them for anything... but if you're giving an idiot a show, don't act shocked when he says something idiotic. LeBetard's just kind of a calculating goof, and getting upset over a mocking billboard is pretty spineless on ESPN's behalf.

Totally agree. I wish this thread had been available so I didn't have to make this argument on behalf of Stephen A. on the Ray Rice thread. That didn't go over quite as well. What SAS said was ridiculous and ignorant, but it's what they encourage these guys to do. And I agree that this was a publicity stunt for his radio show and did not warrant the punishment. Just a silly reaction, though it very well could have been ESPN trying to appease LeBron.

Nothing new and although it may be inconsistent, it's understandable. It goes back to Howard Stern, Opie and Anthony, etc. When those guys were on FM radio, their bosses loved when they were controversial if it brought ratings. But if they brought some heat from the FCC or angered sponsors enough to pull ads their bosses turned on them.

 

[Joe Williams]

All the Bizarro World sports media types promoted by the WWL -- Le Batard, SAS, Skippy, Woody Paige in his day -- are like a B-movie casting director's idea of what sportswriters should or would be. They are the least relevant voices they have there, not respected by their peers, never mind the audience. I only hope they all arrive at the studio in Bristol together in a teensy-weensy car and then pile out like the clowns they are.